·10 hrs of
coach mentoring by a mentor coach, min of 3 hours as 1:1, up to 7 in a group. Animas offer an excellent programme of
mentoring for ICF credentialing purposes.
Evidence: upload your coach mentor’s details. Another way to find your mentor coach is to look on the ICF registry of mentor coaches.

·100 hrs of coaching
logged with a minimum of 75 hours paid and the remainder pro bono. Evidence: upload your coaching log including
names and contact details, plus confirming consent from all those included on
your log.

·To be a
member of the International Coach Federation.

·To pass the ICF
Coach Knowledge Assessment. This is an on-line
multiple choice exam based on the ICF definition of coaching, the ICF pledge of
ethics and the ICF core competencies.
Sample questions are available on the ICF website. The test must be taken in one sitting; the
time allowed is 3 hours and the pass mark is 70%.

Here are my top tips for earning your ACC credential via the ACSTH path, most of which apply to the Portfolio path as well.

1 1. Start your
coaching log as soon as you start coaching. Get into the habit of logging each coaching
session as soon as you’ve completed it – it’s much harder to fill it in
retrospectively! A good way of gaining consent
from clients to be included in your log is to build this into your terms and
conditions/coaching agreement. Template
coaching logs are available on the ICF website under credentialing. Template coaching agreements are also on the
Animas Learning Zone.

2.2. Finding paying clients is difficult
when you are starting out so join ICF early as a student coach – be sure to
select the option that you are taking part in Accredited Coach Specific
Training Hours (ACSTH) of 60 hours or more, which is what the ICF recognises
the Animas Diploma as (123 hours to be precise). You can then take part in the ICF reciprocal
coaching programme, which is accepted as PAID coaching hours because there is
an exchange of value.

3.3. Another good way to find clients is
simply…. to ask people! I made an
announcement at one of my yoga groups that I was doing a coaching diploma and
wanted some practice clients. Two people
responded and one was so pleased she insisted on paying me, which became 5 paid
hours on my log. Keep an eye out on the
Animas FB lounge too – there are frequent offers of practice clients,
occasionally paying clients too. Fellow
Animites make great practice clients and every training weekend and supervised
online coaching session is an opportunity to connect. I know of Animites who put the word out on
their own FB pages and had lots of responses.
The most innovative method I’ve heard of was from Animite Antonia
Clewes, who sat in a coffee shop with a sign up offering free coaching, which
worked J Use your
creativity to find your own clients.

4.4. Skype is really useful for coaching
sessions. Through the help function, you
can download a free Skype MP3 recorder, which saves every session to your PC
and makes it easy to share recordings as email attachments. Downloading a free Skype MPD recorder is
surprisingly easy to do so for non-techies, have no fear! If you want a simple guide, I’ve posted one
as a discussion on the Animas Learning Zone under ‘Training’. Recording your sessions allows you to
identify your best work to submit to Animas for your Diploma assessment and to
share selected recordings with your mentor coach. I gained extremely useful feedback on my
coaching skills from my mentor coach this way.
After a while, I was able to critique my own recordings, which really
helped me to iron out some of those rookie errors and start to develop my own
coaching style.

5.5. Manage your own motivation, mind-set
and behaviour. Check in with yourself
that you really do want to be credentialed as it is quite a commitment. If you do want this, you know how to set it as
a SMARTER goal! Be open to how you might
achieve your goal, especially your 100 hours of logged coaching, and keep on
coaching whenever you can. Above all,
embrace this opportunity to learn a new and valuable skill as you will gain so
much more: membership of a new community, increased self-awareness, increased
sense of purpose and fulfilment, and new friends, so enjoy the journey!

6.6. You can
progress rapidly from training to accreditation if you want to and are
motivated. If you embrace the tips
above, before you know it you will achieve your 100 hrs, by which time you will
be ready for the coach knowledge assessment.
I began the Animas Diploma training in early August 2014, gained my
Diploma in February 2015, and earned my ACC credential in early April 2015, a
total of 8 months almost to the day.

If you’d
like to know more about the ICF credentialing process, do get in touch and I’d
be pleased to share what I’ve learned.
Best of luck!